What are the Best Interview Questions to Ask Candidates?

An interview is not just a formality in the hiring process; It’s a way to find a candidate who will fit effortlessly into your company's culture and contribute from day one. But not all interviews are deemed successful and companies often end up selecting the wrong candidate. So, what makes an interview successful and unsuccessful? The right questions! Well-crafted questions can help you go beyond a candidate's resume and uncover their true potential. There are a variety of questions you can ask that would shed light on the candidate's problem-solving abilities, leadership capabilities, or even decision-making prowess. In this blog, we will explore 100 such interview questions to ask candidates so that your next interview is a success. ✔️ Key Considerations in Crafting Interview Questions If you wish to identify the right candidates while promoting fairness and equity in the hiring process, you need to consider the following three criteria while building your interview questionnaire: 1. Job Relevance: Importance of asking questions related to the role The questions you ask should be directly related to the skill set and experience required for the role. This is important to better assess the candidate's qualifications and ability to perform the tasks expected of them. Asking job-relevant questions also minimizes the risk of bias because decisions are purely made based on objective criteria related to job performance and not random unrelated factors. For example, a good question for a software developer might revolve around specific programming languages rather than the differentiation of a number. 2. Inclusivity: Ensuring questions are inclusive and non-discriminatory The questions should be designed to avoid any form of discrimination based on gender, race, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. This promotes fairness and also aligns with legal requirements. End result - your company's reputation improves and you will be considered an equal opportunity employer. For instance, instead of asking about a candidate's personal life, such as the history of their ethnicity, which may not be relevant to the job, focus on professional experiences or scenarios that demonstrate competencies. 3. Consistency: Using a standardized set of questions for all candidates Consistency is the key to maintaining fairness and objectivity in an interview. Use a standardized set of questions for all candidates applying for the same position. This will ensure that everyone is evaluated against the same criteria and there will be minimal unconscious bias. Now, standardization doesn't mean you ask the exact same questions in the exact same order to the candidate. While initial questions can be similar, the follow-up questions can be tailored based on individual responses. 💡 100+ Interview Questions To Ask Candidates In this section, we will explore 100+ interview questions for candidates categorized into 10 different buckets. For each question type, we will cover the rationale behind asking the questions, the traits evaluated, and their importance in the interview process. 1. Behavioral Questions 💡 Rationale: To understand the past behavior of candidates to predict future performance. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Problem-solving skills, adaptability, teamwork The questions in this category are designed to explore how a candidate has handled various situations in their past work experiences. Unlike hypothetical or theoretical questions, behavioral questions focus on real-life examples. For instance, it could revolve around describing specific situations where they faced challenges or took the lead on a project. Behavioral interview questions are crucial in an interview because they help uncover whether a candidate's behavior aligns with the organization's values or not. It provides insights into how they might interact with colleagues, handle pressure, or navigate challenges. This type of questioning is particularly important when the role demands specific behavioral traits, such as empathy in customer service or persistence in sales. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 Can you tell me about a time you had to overcome a significant challenge? 👉 How did you handle a situation where you had to work closely with a difficult team member? 👉 How did you approach a work-related situation when you had to adapt to a major change? 👉 Describe a situation and the outcome where you took the initiative on a project. 👉 Tell me about a time when you had to manage and prioritize multiple tasks with tight deadlines. 👉 Can you provide an example of when you received constructive criticism, how you responded, and your learning? 👉 Share an experience including the steps you took to resolve a conflict within a team. 👉 Describe a situation where you failed to achieve a goal and how you handled it. 2. Situational Questions 💡 Rationale: To gauge a candidate's ability to handle hypothetical scenarios. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Critical thinking, decision-making, stress management These questions present candidates with hypothetical scenarios to evaluate how they would respond to potential challenges in the workplace. They focus on assessing a candidate's ability to think on their feet in unfamiliar or unexpected situations. These questions are important in an interview because they can help identify candidates who are proactive, resourceful, and able to manage uncertainty, all of which are essential traits in dynamic or fast-paced environments. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 How would you handle a client who is unhappy with your work? 👉 How would you handle a disagreement with a manager’s decision on how to approach a task? 👉 If a team member is consistently underperforming and it is affecting the team's overall performance, how would you address this issue? 👉 How would you go about learning and completing a new task that is outside your area of expertise? 👉 If you were faced with an ethical dilemma at work, where doing the right thing could have negative consequences for your team, what would you do? 👉 How would you handle a situation where you noticed a mistake in a report just before a critical meeting? 👉 How would you encourage team members who are resistant to change to adapt to a new process? 👉 If you noticed that a colleague was taking credit for your work, how would you handle the situation? 👉 What steps would you take if you suddenly lose access to a critical resource or tool in an important project? 👉 How would you handle a situation where you have to de-escalate client’s frustration with your delayed deliverables? 3. Technical Questions 💡 Rationale: To assess the candidate's skill and expertise in the technical field. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Technical knowledge, problem-solving, attention to detail These questions are designed to assess a candidate's specific knowledge and skills related to the job's technical requirements. For instance, they could focus on the candidate’s expertise in particular tools, software, or even programming languages. Technical questions require candidates to demonstrate their proficiency in real-time, often through coding challenges, case studies, or problem-solving exercises. Technical questions are crucial because they allow employers to gauge a candidate's ability to handle the practical aspects of the role. You can identify candidates who not only have theoretical knowledge but can also apply their skills in real-world scenarios. They are particularly important in industries like IT, engineering, finance, or data analysis, where specialized knowledge and hands-on experience are important. Key Questions to ask in this category: 👉 Can you walk me through a recent project where you had to apply your knowledge ? 👉 Describe how you would optimize the performance of . 👉 Explain (a complex technical concept such as cloud computing, machine learning, or data encryption) to someone without a technical background. 👉 How would you approach debugging a piece of code that isn't producing the expected output? 👉 Describe how one would use to solve . 👉 How would you approach a dataset with millions of records from which you need to extract meaningful insights? 👉 What best practices do you follow to ensure the security of sensitive data in a software application? 👉 Can you describe a time when you had to learn a new technology or tool quickly to complete a project? 👉 How would you design a scalable system architecture for an application expected to handle millions of concurrent users? 👉 Explain the difference between , and describe a situation where you would choose one over the other. 4. Cultural Fit Questions 💡 Rationale: To determine if a candidate aligns with the company's values and culture. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Adaptability, communication style, teamwork These questions help identify how well a candidate’s values, attitudes, ethics, and behaviors align with the culture and core values of your organization. They usually go beyond evaluating skills and qualifications; they aim to determine if a candidate will thrive in your company’s environment and work harmoniously with the existing team. Cultural fit questions are important because they help identify candidates who are not only capable but also likely to be satisfied and productive within the company’s unique setting. Hiring someone whose values and work style are in sync with the organization's culture can lead to higher employee engagement, lower turnover, and better team dynamics. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 Can you describe the type of work environment in which you thrive the most? 👉 How do you typically handle feedback and criticism in the workplace? 👉 What motivates you to do your best work, and how do you maintain that motivation? 👉 Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a significant change at work. 👉 How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time in a fast-paced environment? 👉 Describe a situation where you strongly disagreed with a team member or manager, including how you managed it.. 👉 What values do you think are most important in a workplace, and how do you embody them in your work? 👉 How do you like to communicate with your colleagues, and how do you handle misunderstandings? 👉 Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond to support a teammate or a company goal. 👉 How do you handle stress, and what strategies do you use to stay focused and productive? 5. Personality and Soft Skills Questions 💡 Rationale: To assess the communication, leadership, problem-solving, and other interpersonal skills of the candidate. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Communication, leadership, problem-solving, adaptability These questions evaluate a candidate's interpersonal qualities, communication abilities, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. They typically focus on understanding how a candidate interacts with others, manages stress, handles feedback, and fits within a team or organizational culture and creates a positive work environment. These questions are important for roles that require significant collaboration, customer interaction, or team engagement such as sales and marketing. Strong soft skills can make a substantial difference in how a candidate performs, regardless of their technical expertise. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 Can you give an example of a time when you had to communicate a difficult message to a colleague or client? 👉 How do you typically handle communication with your team when you are under stress? 👉 Describe a situation where you took the initiative to ensure effective collaboration. 👉 Give me an example of how you responded to highly negative feedback from your manager. 👉 What steps do you take to build relationships with new colleagues or clients? 👉 How would you handle a situation where you had to work closely with a colleague who had a completely different personality from you? 👉 Can you recall a time when you had to manage your emotions to maintain professionalism in a difficult situation 👉 Can you describe a time when you had to explain a complex concept to someone who was not familiar with the topic? 👉 Describe a time when you demonstrated empathy or understanding in a professional setting. 6. Creative thinking questions 💡 Rationale: To evaluate a candidate's critical thinking, creativity, and approach to overcoming challenges. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving These questions give you a clear idea about the candidate’s ability to think outside the box, generate innovative ideas, and solve problems in novel ways. They help gauge a candidate's imagination, originality, interest, and capacity to approach challenges from different perspectives. Such questions are particularly important for roles that require strategic thinking, innovation, or a high degree of adaptability. This is especially relevant in departments like marketing, product development, design, and technology, where the ability to innovate and creatively solve problems can significantly impact a company’s success. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 If you were given an unlimited budget to create a new product for our company, what would you design and why 👉 Describe a time when you had to solve a problem with an unconventional approach. 👉 Describe a project or idea you’ve worked on that was particularly creative or innovative. 👉 If you were a superhero for a day, how would you use your powers to benefit our industry? 👉 How would you market a product to a group of people who dislike it?" 👉 Imagine you have to explain our company to a group of children. How would you make it fun and engaging? 👉 If you were given the task of creating a viral marketing campaign for an unexciting product, what would your campaign look like? 👉 How would you reimagine our office space to enhance employee creativity and collaboration? 👉 If our company was an animal, which one would it be, and why? 👉 Can you think of a unique use for our product? 7. Growth Potential Questions 💡 Rationale: To assess the candidate's willingness to learn, adapt, and grow within the company. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Adaptability, growth mindset, initiative These questions assess a candidate's ambition, enthusiasm, adaptability, and willingness to learn and grow within the organization. They focus on understanding a candidate's career aspirations, their approach to professional development, their appetite for new roles, and their ability to take on new challenges. Such questions are important for roles where continuous learning, skill development, and potential for advancement are key to success. Employees with high growth potential are valuable assets because they are likely to take on more significant roles and contribute to long-term organizational goals. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 What new skills are you hoping to develop in this role? 👉 Where do you see yourself in five years, and how does this position help you get there? 👉 Can you provide an example of a time when you stepped outside of your comfort zone to learn something new? 👉 How do you typically handle tasks or projects that are outside of your current expertise? 👉 What steps have you taken in the past year to develop your skills or advance your career path? 👉 What are your long-term career goals, and how do you see this role helping you achieve them? 👉 How do you stay current with industry trends and changes, and how do you apply this knowledge to your work? 👉 Describe a time when you had to learn a new skill quickly to complete a project or meet a deadline. 👉 What motivates you to take on new challenges, and how do you typically respond when faced with a difficult task? 👉 How do you seek out feedback, and how have you used it to improve your performance or develop new skills? 8. Leadership and Management Questions 💡 Rationale: To determine the candidate's ability to lead, manage, and inspire others, even if the role is not strictly managerial. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Leadership, communication, motivation These questions are designed to evaluate a candidate's ability to guide, motivate, manage, and lead teams from the front effectively. They explore the candidate’s leadership style, conflict resolution skills, decision-making abilities, and their approach to managing people and resources. Such questions reveal the candidate’s capacity to balance strategic thinking with empathy, vision, and adaptability—key qualities for any leadership role. These questions are crucial for roles that require overseeing teams or managing projects. Strong leaders often create an inclusive and motivating ecosystem where team members feel valued and empowered. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 Can you provide an example of a time when you successfully motivated a team to achieve a challenging goal? 👉 Describe a situation where you had to manage a conflict between your team members. 👉 What is your approach to giving constructive feedback, and how do you ensure it is received positively? 👉 What factors do you usually consider while making tough decisions as a leader? 👉 How do you adapt your management style to different team members’ personalities and work styles? 👉 Describe a situation where you had to manage a major transition within your team. 👉 How do you prioritize tasks and delegate responsibilities to your team to ensure maximum efficiency? 👉 What steps do you take to build a positive and inclusive team culture? 👉 Can you give an example of how you’ve developed or mentored an underperforming team member. 👉 How do you handle situations where team performance is not meeting expectations? 9. Decision-Making Questions 💡 Rationale: To understand how a candidate makes decisions, especially under pressure or with limited information. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Decision-making, critical thinking, adaptability These questions are designed to assess a candidate's ability to make sound, informed, correct, and timely decisions in various situations. These questions focus on how candidates approach complex scenarios, weigh options, consider consequences, and choose the best course of action. Such questions are particularly important for roles that require independent judgment, strategic planning, or decisions that can significantly impact the team or organization. Classic examples would be project managers or sales managers. Good decision-makers can navigate ambiguity, prioritize tasks, eliminate biases, and balance short-term needs with long-term objectives. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision with incomplete data. 👉 What process do you follow when faced with a tough decision? 👉 Can you give an example of a time when you had to make a quick decision? 👉 Describe a decision you made that was unpopular with your team. 👉 Tell me about a time when you had to choose between two equally viable options. 👉 Describe a time when you made a decision that had a positive impact on your team or organization. 👉 Can you recall a situation where you made a mistake in your decision-making? 👉 How would you handle a situation where you must make a decision, but the stakeholders are divided on the best approach? 👉 Give an example of one of your decisions when you had to balance a long-term objective with an immediate need. 10. Customer-Focused Questions 💡 Rationale: To gauge a candidate's understanding and approach to customer service or client management. 🔎 Traits Evaluated: Communication, problem-solving, customer service These questions are designed to assess a candidate's ability to prioritize and deliver exceptional customer service. They clearly evaluate how well a candidate understands customer needs and builds relationships that turn into customer loyalty. They explore qualities like empathy, problem-solving, patience, and communication skills—key attributes for anyone in a customer-facing role. These questions are particularly important for roles that involve direct interaction with clients. Examples include sales and support in retail or service-based industries. A candidate's ability to maintain a positive attitude, actively listen, empathize, and respond articulately to customer concerns can significantly impact your company’s reputation and customer retention rates. Key Questions to ask in this category include: 👉 Can you describe a time when you went out of your way to help a customer? 👉 How do you handle a situation where a customer has unrealistic expectations or demands? 👉 Describe an instance where you had to deal with an angry or dissatisfied customer. 👉 What steps would you take to ensure a customer feels heard and valued during an interaction? 👉 Can you give an example of how you turned a negative customer experience into a positive one? 👉 How do you balance maintaining company policies with providing exceptional customer service? 👉 Tell me about a time when you had to educate a customer about a product or service. 👉 How would you handle multiple customer inquiries or complaints at the same time? 👉 Describe a situation where you identified an opportunity to improve the customer experience. 👉 How do you stay informed about changes in products or services to ensure you provide accurate information to customers? 🎯 Tips for Conducting Effective Interviews Here are some best practices to follow while conducting interviews in your organization 1. Choose the Right Time and Setting Select a time for the interview that suits both parties. As a practice, avoid peak hours or busy times. Opt for a setting that is quiet, private, and free of distractions, such as a dedicated meeting room or a virtual setting with stable internet connectivity. Ensure that all necessary materials, like notepads, laptops, or recording devices, are available and functioning. Apart from this, send a calendar invite with the agreed time and details about the location or the virtual meeting link. Prepare the room or virtual environment at least 10 minutes in advance by testing all technology (microphones, cameras, and internet connection) to avoid delays or disruptions. 2. Select an Impartial Interviewer Choose an interviewer who does not have a personal stake in the candidate's outcome to prevent bias. The interviewer should be someone with relevant experience and knowledge of the role, but not directly involved in the team that the candidate would be joining. You should also rotate interviewers regularly to ensure a diverse perspective. More importantly, train them on bias awareness and ask them to use a standardized evaluation form. 3. Prepare Thoughtful, Open-Ended Questions Develop questions that go beyond “yes” or “no” answers. This will give you detailed responses and provide insights into the candidate's thought processes. For instance, you could include behavioral questions to understand past experiences or scenario-based questions that relate to the role's actual challenges. If possible, review all the questions with other members of the hiring team and the project team to ensure they are aligned with the role's requirements. 4. Create a Comfortable Environment Ensure the candidate feels at ease to promote a more authentic conversation. Begin with a friendly introduction and outline the interview process to set expectations. Offer refreshments if the interview is in person. At the beginning of the interview, clearly communicate the duration of the whole interview process. 5. Encourage Honest and Constructive Feedback Make it clear that honest feedback is valued in your organization and that the goal is to find a good fit for both the organization and the candidate. Be open to hearing both positive and negative feedback and ask for feedback on the interview process itself at the end. Try phrasing the questions in a way that welcomes both praise and constructive criticism. 6. Listen Actively and Avoid Defensiveness Focus on listening to the candidate’s answers without interrupting. Acknowledge their responses and ask follow-up questions to clarify points if needed. Avoid becoming defensive if the candidate expresses concerns. Use nonverbal cues like nodding to show engagement and paraphrase responses to confirm understanding before moving on to the next question. Always maintain an open, nonjudgmental body posture and tone. 7. Ensure Confidentiality Reassure candidates that their responses and feedback will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. This helps build trust and encourages them to be more open. If possible, include a confidentiality statement at the beginning of the interview and store all interview notes in a secure, restricted-access location. 8. Document Responses Accurately Keep a detailed record of the candidate’s responses to avoid reliance on memory. This helps ensure that feedback is precise and can be reviewed later. Take notes or use a recording device with the candidate's consent, and immediately review and summarize notes after the interview while details are fresh. 9. Analyze Feedback for Patterns After the interview, analyze the responses for common themes or patterns that emerge across multiple job candidates. This helps identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. If possible, use a scoring system to quantify responses against key competencies. Review feedback collectively with other interviewers to identify any biases. 10. Follow Up with Actionable Changes Based on feedback and analysis, implement changes to the interview process where needed. This could include modifying questions, changing the interview format, or providing additional training for interviewers. Schedule a debrief session after each round of interviews to discuss improvements and regularly review and update interview materials and guidelines. Provide training sessions for interviewers on best practices and feedback integration. 👉 How can Peoplebox help? By integrating with Peoplebox, you can streamline and enhance your interview and subsequent onboarding process. Here are some powerful features offered by Peoplebox that help in achieving this: ⚙️ Automated Candidate Screening and Shortlisting Peoplebox leverages AI to efficiently screen resumes, processing thousands of applications quickly and accurately. It conducts automated skill-gap analyses and matches candidates to suitable roles, scoring them based on their skills and experience. This feature is a great way to swiftly identify the best candidates for interviews, leading to a higher hire rate by focusing on the most qualified individuals. 🔄 Seamless Integration with ATS and HRIS Peoplebox integrates with over 50 HRIS, ATS, and communication platforms, enabling you to manage interviews and hiring activities within your existing workflows. You can easily convert resumes to the desired format, share them with stakeholders, and gather feedback post-interview, enhancing efficiency without juggling multiple tools. 💻 Real-Time Reporting and Analytics Peoplebox provides real-time reporting and dashboards that let you make faster decisions about your candidates. By seamlessly connecting talent acquisition data with performance insights, Peoplebox offers a holistic view of the candidate, enabling you to align your hiring decision with the overarching business needs. 🫂 Streamlined Collaboration and Communication Through integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams, Peoplebox enables seamless collaboration and communication between you, your colleagues, and even the candidates. You can directly communicate with the candidates on these platforms, or even schedule interviews on them. This will streamline your hiring workflows and boost your productivity. 💬 Feedback from new hires Peoplebox allows you to collect continuous feedback from new hires through regular check-ins and pulse surveys. These surveys can be customized to ask specific questions about the interview process. This will help you understand what is working well and where improvements are needed. Put simply, by adopting Peoplebox, you can optimize your interview process and ensure that you hire the right candidate easily. Find out more about Peoplebox by requesting a demo now. FAQs on Best Interview Questions What's the best interview question to ask? There is no one question that could be termed the best interview question. Each question gives you valuable insights about the candidate that, in turn, can help you make an informed decision. The effectiveness of a question also often depends on the specific role and the qualities you are seeking in a candidate. How to ask a candidate for an interview? When asking a candidate for an interview, be clear, concise, and professional. Invite the candidate via email or phone. Offer a few date and time options to accommodate the candidate’s schedule. After sending the invitation, follow up with a confirmation or reminder as the interview date approaches. What are the top 10 questions to ask an employer? Here are the top 10 questions to ask an employer: Can you describe the company culture and the type of people who tend to succeed here? What are the expectations for this current role during the first 30, 60, and 90 days? What are the most significant challenges currently facing your team or the company? How do you measure success in this position? Can you tell me about the team I would be working with and the leadership style of my direct supervisor? What opportunities are there for professional development and career growth within the company? How does the company approach work-life balance? What is the company's approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Can you provide more details about the next steps in the hiring process and the timeline? Is there anything about my background or experience that concerns you regarding my fit for this role?